Method or art of making insulated wire



W. E. COOK.

METHOD 08 ART OF MAKING INSULATED WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED APRA 24, 1917.

Patented May 9,1922,

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WILLIAM E. COOK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE PEERLESS INSULATED WIRE AND CABLE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., COR- PORATION OF DELAWARE.

METHOD OR ART OF MAKING- INSULATED Application filed April 24, 1917. Serial No. 164,302.

To all whom it may Concern: 1

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. Cook, a subject of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at St. George in theboroug-h of Richmond, city of New l ork, county of Richmond, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Method or Art of Making Insulated Wire, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. I

My invention relates to a method or art ,of making insulated wires, and more particularly to improvements in the manner of producing such wire having insulation consisting of an absorbent body saturated or I impregnated with asphaltum or other composition for waterpoofing, and increasing the resistance of, the coating material.

Heretofore conductor wires have been produced by wrapping the wire in a cotton sliver and after compacting the sliver upon the wire forming a continuous braid about the insulating material prior to saturating,-or impregnating, thesliver and thebraid, with an asphaltum or similar composition. This method, as demonstrated by use, has certain disadvantages both as to the manner of producing insulating wires, and as to the finished product. In producing the wire, the

incorporation of the covering braid in the.

structure is a separate and distinct operation from the winding of the cotton sliverv about the wire. Furthermore, since the ma trial of which the braid is formed is relatively much less absorbent than the compressed cotton sliver, the presence of the braid upon the exterior of the insulated wire has a tendency to prevent a uniform .absorption of the asphaltum or other composition by the compacted cotton sliver. By my present invention, JL am enabled to produce an insulated wire wherein the ordinary braid is entirely dispensed with, the cotton sliver being held in a compact mass about the wire in a manner not to interfere with the thorough impregnation of this sliver with the viscous asphaltum or other composition, the first of the finishingoperations in the production of the wire. Furthermore, the threads or cords used for binding the sliver upon the wire are appliedv substantially simultaneously with the sliver, allowing only a sufiicientinterval to ensure a thorough compaction of the sliver before applying said threads or cords thereto. In this manner the cotton sliver and the binding threads or cords acting thereon, are incorporated in the wire by a practically continuous opera tion. As the thread or cord is applied to the sliver, it is imbedded in the body of the s'liver to an extent to be practically invisible in the completed article, thus permitting the application of the finishing wax directly to the sliver which will readily conform to the iron during the polishing operation ina manner to producea wire with a' well formed and smooth surface.

The invention consists primarily in the herein described method or art of making insulated wire consisting in winding a cotton sliver spirally about a conductor wire, with the edges thereof overlapping, compactmg said sliver upon the wire, winding a strand of flexible, absorbent material about and embedding successive convolutions thereof Within said sliver while itis compacted and thereafter saturating or impregnating said sliver and said strand with a viscous composition whereby the insulating property thereof is increased, the completed wire is waterproofed and said sliver and said strand are set; and in such other novel steps and practices as are hereinafter set forth'and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended. Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine showing the mannerof applying the cotton sliver and the binding to a conductor wire;

and

2 illustrates an apparatus used in the "step of saturating or impregnating the covering for the wire-with asph'altum or other viscous composition.

Like letters refer to like parts in both views.

In the practice of the method or art of my invention, a continuous strand of a conductor Wire a is passed through a bath of adhesive material indicated at band has imparted thereto,continuoustraverse at a substantially. uniform speed, being passed over the rollers c to a rewinding reel (not shown). During this traverse a continuous strip of cotton sliver d is spirallywound about the conductor wire a, the edges of succeeding Patented May a, 1922.

convolutions forming a lap joint so as tosecure continuity of this cover and substan- V tially the same thickness thereof throughout.

This sliver is applied by means of a rotating platform 6 adapted to carry a container 7 for'the' sliver, the wire a passing vertically through this platform, axially thereof. Af-

terthe application of the-sliver to the wire,-

the 'wire with the sliver thereon passes through a compressing horn g havingrotary movement with the platform e.

. the Wire andthe partially compacted coverimmediately of the cotton sliver, the desired density ofing therefor passes from the horn g to a second horn h which still further compacts said sliver. Immediately after the wire and its covering passes from the "born h, it passes .through a rotating frame 73 having mounted therein one or more spoolsj containing aallel strands are used, to permit the use of a fairly wide sliver confined at a-number of v the same pitch as different points by the thread or cord.

When the frame 2' is carried by and rotated at the 'samei'speed as, the table e, the spiral convolutionsof the thread or cord will have cotton "sliver. 5

,After the. cotton sliver has been applied ,to the wire, andconfined in position by the spirally wound-strand, strands, of thread .or cord, thewirewithits covering is passed through a tank 70 contalmng a mass of viscous insulating, adhesive and waterproof material,"su'ch as the asphaltum composition ordinarily used in making'insulated wires. Thewire after the setting of this composition is waxed and passed through polishing and ton sliver project between the strands of finishing. i -giving the; desired, and final finish thereto;

. .Byre'ason Grai application of adhesive to thewire' before wrapping the sliver spirally thereupon, this sliver will be-fir'mly bonded to the'wire, 'so as toresist displacement'. by the compression horns even though I these horns do not have rotary movement.

While the covered wire is in the asphaltum or other-similarbath, the cotton sliver will readily 1, absorb this composition by 'reason of the fact that substantial areas of the cotthread or cord, which as heretofore stated,

' are imbedded well Within the sliver, the portions of the sliver between said strands forin- Thereafter the wire.

and conform to those of theing ducts through which the composition may readily flow to the bottom of the sliver.

-The compression of the sliver will matte the fibers thereof, the thread or cord preventing expansion afterfcompression; and the application of the asphaltum or other composition causes the fibers to firmly adhere or set, and at the same time firmly bonds the thread or cord to the sliver.

1 In the finished product the binding threads or cords will not be perceptible as the cotton sliver will ordinarily lapthereover in a manner to completely conceal same.

\Preferably, to permit the operation of the machine used at high speed, :Iemploy a cotton sliver having imbedded therein and bonded thereto, a continuous cotton thread or cord which will serve 'tosupplement the action of the binding threads or'cor'ds ap plied to the exterior of the sliver, in holding the sliver in its In, this manner, amenabled by a subs'tantially simultaneous or continuous opera- .tion, to apply both the cotton sliver and the binding thread or cord to the wire thereby gaining the advantage over the present methods of avoiding'the necessity forpassing the wires successively through a machine .for wrapping the sliver about-the wire, and

a'machine for applying the cover thereto.

Having described the invention what I compacted condition upon claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is 1. The herein described method or art of making insulated wire consisting. in winding a cotton sliver spirally about a conductor wire with. the edges thereof overlapping,

compacting said sliver upon the wire, wind- 'ing a strand of flexible, absorbent material about and embedding successive convolutions thereof within Said sliver While it is compacted, the convolutions of said strand being spaced apart to form ducts therebetween to facilitate the penetration of'a'viscous composition throughout the body of saidsliver, and'thereafter saturating or impregnating said sliver and said strand with a viscou composition, whereby its insulat- 'ingproperty .is increased, the completed wire. is waterproofed and-the fibers of said sliver and said strand are bonded together..

2'. The herein describedmethod or'art of making insulated wire consisting inwinding a cotton sliver spirally about a conductor wirewith thee ges thereof overlapping,

compacting said sliver upon the wire, wind-' ing a strand of flexible, absorbent material spirally about and embedding successive convolutions thereof within said sliver while itjis compacted, and at the same pitch at which said sliver is wound, the convolutions of said strand being spaced apart'to form ducts therebetween to facilitate the p'enetrae tion of a viscous composition throughout the body of said sliver and thereafter saturating or impregnating said sliver and said strand with a viscous composition, whereby its insulating property is increased, the completed wire is waterproofed and the fibers of said sliver and said strand are bonded together.

3. The herein described method or art of making insulating wire consisting in winding a cotton sliver spirally about a conduc tor wire with the edges thereof overlapping, compacting said sliver upon the wire, winding a strand offlexible, absorbent material spirally about said sliver while it is com pacted, and at the same pitch at which said sliver is wound, said strand being tensioned while being wound to imbed it in said sliver, succeeding convolutions of said strand being spaced apart to form ducts to facilitate the penetration of-' a viscous composition throughout the body of said sliver and thereafter saturating or impregnating said sliver and'said strand with a viscous composition, whereby its insulating property is increased, the completed wire is waterproofed and the fibers of said sliver and said strand are bonded together.

4. The hereindescribed method or art of making insulated wire consisting in winding a cotton sliver spirally about a conductor wire with the edges thereof overlapping, compacting said sliver upon the wire, winding a plurality of strands of flexible, absorbent, material about and embedding successive convolutions thereof within said sliver while it is compacted, said strands being laid in parallel lines spaced apart to form ducts to facilitate the penetration of a viscous cornposition throughout the body of saidsliver,

and thereafter saturating or impregnating said sliver and said strands with a viscous composition, whereby the insulating property is increased, thecompleted wire is waterproofed and the fibers of said sliver and said strands are bonded together.

5. The herein described method or art of making insulated wire consisting in winding a cotton sliver spirally about a conductor wire with the edges thereof overlapping, compacting said sliver upon thewire, winding a plurality of strands of flexible, absorbent material about said sliver while it is compacted, and at the same pitch at which said sliver is wound, said strands being tenmaking insulated wire consisting in winding a cotton sliver spirally about a conductor -wire with the edges thereofoverlapping,

compacting said sliver upon the wire, winding a plurality of strands of flexible, absorbent material spirally about said sliver while it" is compacted, said strands being laid in substantially parallel lines spaced apart to form ducts to facilitate the penetration of a viscous compositionthrough'out the body of said sliver, maintaining said strands under tension while winding them, to imbed them in the sliver, and thereafter saturating or impregnating said sliver and said strands with a' viscous composition, whereby the insulatingproperty is increased, the completed wire is waterproofeda'nd the fibers of said sliver and said strands are bonded together.

In witness whereof, I hereunto affix my signaturein the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 9th day of April, 1917.

WILLIAM E. COOK, 

